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Core Features

Emoji & Symbols

Emoji & Symbols in Raycast lets you search for any emoji, flag, or Unicode symbol by name or description in natural language, then paste it directly into your active input field at lightning speed.

Screenshot of the Emoji & Symbols command in RaycastScreenshot of the Emoji & Symbols command in Raycast

Start typing to search for emojis or symbols. Raycast matches against the symbol name, its category, and any custom keywords you've added. Use the category filters in the Navigation Bar to browse by group (Smileys & People, Symbols, Flags, and more).

You can adjust the number of columns in the Emoji view by using ⌘ / Ctrl - / + to decrease or increase the column count, or ⌘ / Ctrl 0 to return to the default, or in Raycast Settings → Emoji & Symbols → Column Count.

AI Results

AI Results uses natural language understanding to find emojis based on meaning rather than keywords. AI Results automatically show when there are no matches, or you can press Tab on direct matches to show AI-suggested alternatives.

Screenshot of AI Results in the Emoji & Symbols command in RaycastScreenshot of AI Results in the Emoji & Symbols command in Raycast

Custom Keywords

Assign custom keywords to any emoji or symbol so you find it faster next time. You can search by Unicode name and custom keywords interchangeably.

  1. Open the Search Emoji & Symbols command
  2. Highlight the emoji you'd like to edit, then use the Edit Custom Keywords action from the Action Panel
  3. Enter the custom keywords you'd like to assign to the emoji
  4. Save the updated emoji

Actions

Pressing Enter will paste the highlighted emoji or symbol directly into your active input field. Emoji & Symbols also includes additional actions:

ActionMacWindows
Copy to Clipboard⌘ EnterCtrl Enter
Paste and Keep Window OpenShift ⌘ EnterShift Ctrl Enter
Copy Unicode⌥ ⌘ CShift Ctrl C
Pin/Unpin Emoji⌘ .Ctrl .
Assign Custom Keywords⌘ ECtrl E

Settings

All Emoji & Symbols settings live under Raycast Settings -> Emoji & Symbols.

  • Column Count: Customize how many emojis appear in the Search Emoji & Symbols command and choose between 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 columns.
  • Primary Action: Choose the primary action when pressing ⏎ in the Search Emoji & Symbols command.
  • Emoji Skin Tone: Choose the default skin tone for emojis that support skin tone modifiers.
  • Save AI-generated custom keywords: When enabled, your search term is stored as a custom keyword on the emoji you copied or pasted, helping future searches find it without AI.

Replace System Emoji Picker

You can replace the system emoji picker with the Emoji & Symbols extension in Raycast by setting a hotkey for the command.

  1. Open System Settings → Keyboard
  2. Select Keyboard Shortcuts
  3. Change "Press key to" to Nothing
  4. Open Raycast Settings → Emoji & Symbols
  5. Set the Search Emoji & Symbols command hotkey to

Tips

  • Pin your favorites. Pinned emojis always appear at the top of the grid
  • Use AI Results for discovery. Press Tab to see alternative emoji suggestions for any search
  • Enable auto-save for AI keywords. Turn on Save AI-generated custom keywords in Raycast Settings to instantly surface repeated searches using the same keywords
  • Set a global hotkey. Assign a keyboard shortcut in settings to open Emoji & Symbols from any app. You can even reassign the built-in emoji picker hotkey on macOS and Windows to Raycast's Emoji & Symbols instead